A Pinterest DIY Teeth Whitening Nightmare.

Have you had a DIY Teeth Whitening Nightmare experience? Well, this post is written with the hope that it’ll save you from experiencing a DIY teeth whitening nightmare and potential damage to your teeth.

Dr. Lindsey Heim writing here. I recently saw a ‘pin’ on Pinterest about an “at home tooth whitening remedy”. This remedy was to place a mixture of baking soda and lemon juice on your teeth with a cotton ball and let it sit for a minute. The pin can be seen below.

As tempting as this may sound to use natural products that we all likely have at home to whiten teeth…

DON’T DO THIS!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Why not use natural products to whiten teeth?

Lemon juice is extremely acidic, and when placed on the teeth in full or diluted concentration will weaken enamel. Acid from bacteria is how and why cavities form; it pulls minerals out of the enamel structure. By placing HIGHLY concentrated acid on your teeth from lemon juice, you will cause damage, weaken your enamel, and make your teeth more prone to cavities. On top of weakening your enamel, baking soda is very abrasive to teeth. By scrubbing away the outer layer of your teeth, the teeth *may* appear slightly whiter for a very short time because stains are removed with the tooth structure, but you are losing valuable tooth structure. This is NOT a good way to whiten teeth.

I’ve already done it. Now what?

If you have used this remedy, please let your dentist know. No judgment, but we may suggest to not do this ‘remedy’ again. Some damage from this whitening remedy could be irreversible, but there are steps that we can take to help re-strengthen your enamel.

What are my other options? What would a dentist recommend?

There are many safe options out there to whiten teeth. I would encourage everyone to discuss any plans to whiten teeth with your dentist, even if you plan to use over the counter products. We have great professional options to whiten your teeth and make them the brightest in the shortest amount of time with the longest lasting results, but can also discuss the better over the counter options if one prefers to use those. There are effective over the counter products out there, they often just don’t get the results a professional system can get and often take longer to get those results. It is best to run any plans to whiten your teeth by your dentist, since although proper whitening products are generally safe, some conditions can be worsened by whitening, and there can sometimes be side effects which are best managed by a dentist.

It is possible to get a whiter, brighter smile with just a few steps, but this ‘remedy’ is NOT one of them.

We believe your teeth are precious so your safety is our main concern. Damaging teeth with a DIY trend could do more harm than good. We certainly want to be a part of the conversation if you desire white teeth and we can discuss cost effective options. Thank you for your comment!

This, amazingly enough, does appear on Dr. Oz’s blog as a natural remedy for teeth whitening. Not only that, but there are no guidelines about how often it should be done and the instructions say to brush it off your teeth (now that the enamel is particularly compromised, go ahead and scrape them with your toothbrush???). I have seen that very same thing posted on Pinterest several times and I always put a not in the comments section to not follow that recipe because it’s harmful. Isn’t there some way to to put some pressure on Dr. Oz to remove that garbage from his website? Perhaps a complaint could be filed with the ADA or something?

I can’t afford to see a dentist and have no insurance (like many in our country) so I can definitely see why people would attempt DIY remedies. What are some of the “good” store bought whiteners that are safe to use, but won’t cost you an arm and a leg?

Whitening toothpastes have been criticised for containing abrasive particles which can wear tooth enamel away, and some researchers say that hydrogen peroxide, the most commonly used bleachingagent, may be carcinogenic and weaken teeth.`-;’